Government defends Great Nicobar development plans, cites strategic and environmental safeguards

The Indian government has formally defended the Great Nicobar Island Development Project (GNIDP) before Parliament and the public, citing the island's strate...

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The Indian government has formally defended the Great Nicobar Island Development Project (GNIDP) before Parliament and the public, citing the island's strategic location in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), robust environmental safeguards, and specific measures to protect the indigenous Shompen tribe.
The ₹81,000 crore (~US$8.5 billion) project, to be developed by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO), includes an international container transshipment terminal, a dual-use civil-military airport, a township, and a power plant near Galthea Bay on the island's southern coast.
The government highlighted that the project area lies near the Strait of Malacca — through which approximately 30% of global maritime trade passes — and that a permanent strategic presence here would reduce India's dependence on foreign transshipment hubs such as Colombo, Singapore, and Port Klang.
Environmental critics, researchers, and international bodies have raised concerns about forest diversion, damage to coral reefs and mangroves, threats to nesting Leatherback sea turtles, and the possible displacement of the Shompen — a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) with a population of approximately 229–300.
The government cited a 30-year conservation programme valued at Rs 72,220.41 crore to protect island ecosystems, including Leatherback turtles, Nicobar megapodes, saltwater crocodiles, and Nicobar macaques.

Static Topic Bridges

Great Nicobar Island — Geography and Strategic Significance

Great Nicobar Island is the largest (921 km²) and southernmost island of India, located at the tail end of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. Indira Point (6°45'N, 93°49'E) at its southern tip is India's southernmost point, lying approximately 163 km by sea from Sumatra, Indonesia.

The island sits astride the Colombo-Singapore international shipping lane that passes through the Malacca Strait.
It is strategically positioned to monitor and control sea-lanes in the eastern Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and approaches to the Strait of Malacca.
The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), headquartered at Port Blair, is India's only tri-services command, underscoring the region's defence importance.
Great Nicobar is located approximately 540 km by sea from Port Blair.

Connection to this news: The project's proponents argue that infrastructure on Great Nicobar would convert a currently under-developed strategic asset into an operational hub, enhancing India's "area denial" capacity and maritime domain awareness in the IOR.

Shompen — India's Most Isolated Tribal Community

The Shompen are the indigenous hunter-gatherer inhabitants of Great Nicobar Island's interior rainforests. Classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), they are considered among the most isolated peoples on Earth, with most sub-groups having refused sustained contact with outsiders.

Population: estimated 229 (Census 2011); actual count unknown; some estimates suggest around 300.
PVTG classification is governed by criteria including pre-agricultural livelihoods, declining or stagnant population, and low literacy — criteria formally identified in a 1975–76 national scheme.
The Shompen speak at least two languages that appear unrelated to Nicobarese and to each other.
Their subsistence depends on wild pig, lizard, and monkey hunting, forest gathering, and small-scale horticulture; the pandanus fruit (locally called larop) is a dietary staple.
Article 244 of the Constitution (read with the Fifth and Sixth Schedules) provides for special administration of tribal and scheduled areas.

Connection to this news: The project's population influx — projected to bring the island's population from near-zero to over 3.5 lakh — poses an existential threat to the Shompen's isolation, livelihood, and disease resistance; critics argue that declared safeguards cannot fully mitigate contact-driven risks.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Forest Diversion

An Environmental Impact Assessment is a statutory process under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, to evaluate the likely environmental effects of a proposed project before approval. Large projects also require forest diversion clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

The Great Nicobar project involves diversion of substantial tropical rainforest, including areas within or adjacent to biosphere reserves.
The project site at Galthea Bay is near a 10 km radius ecologically sensitive zone.
India's coastal regulation under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019, governs construction near shorelines; island projects require special dispensations.
Leatherback sea turtles (the world's largest turtle species) nest on Galthea Bay's beaches and are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Connection to this news: Environmental groups argue the EIA process for Great Nicobar was insufficiently rigorous given the island's unique biodiversity, and that the proposed conservation fund does not offset irreversible habitat loss and fragmentation.

Key Facts & Data

Project cost: ₹81,000 crore (~US$8.5 billion).
Implementing agency: ANIIDCO (Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation).
Components: international transshipment terminal, dual-use airport, township, power plant — all near Galthea Bay.
Great Nicobar area: 921 km²; southernmost point: Indira Point.
Distance to Sumatra (Indonesia): ~163 km by sea.
Distance to Port Blair: ~540 km by sea.
Projected population influx: up to 3.5 lakh (from near-zero currently).
Shompen population: ~229 (Census 2011); PVTG status.
30-year conservation programme: Rs 72,220.41 crore.
India's only tri-services command (ANC) is headquartered at Port Blair.
Approximately 30% of global maritime trade passes through the Strait of Malacca.
Species at risk: Leatherback sea turtle (IUCN: Vulnerable), Nicobar megapode, saltwater crocodile, Nicobar macaque.